The ICC advances First Trial on Mitiga Prison Abuses in Libya

Author: Aahana Negwaker

July 22, 2026

HRRC condemns the human rights abuses committed by El Hishri across his involvement in the Mitiga prison. We also urges Libyan authorities to further cooperate and assist the court with the investigation in order to reach a decision as soon as possible.

An exterior image of the International Criminal Court in Hague, Netherlands [Image credit: Wikimedia Commons]

On July 14th, the International Criminal Court (ICC) reached a landmark decision on the charges against Libyan suspect Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri, a man involved in running one of the most feared prisons in the country. These charges span various human right abuses, including “torture, rape, sexual violence, murder, enslavement, and persecution allegedly committed against detainees in Tripoli’s Mitiga Prison since 2015,” Human Rights Watch (HRW) confirms.

The three-judge panel found substantial amounts of evidence to confirm his role in charges for 17 war crimes and crimes against humanity, effectively sending him to trial. Upon thorough investigation, the judges also found that these abuses were not isolated nor random, but targeted and institutionalized through an organized system designed to control detainees and prevent them from seeking help. 

The motion to proceed to trial does not establish El Hishri’s guilt. Instead, it allows the case to move forward to a full trial, where the prosecution must prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Leading up to this ruling, the evidence used in court consisted of written submissions from victims, statements from witnesses, and other detainees. 

This confirmation comes after 15 years of ICC investigation into the situation in Libya, making it the first case from that inquiry to reach trial. German authorities arrested El Hishri in July 2025 and surrendered him to the Court that December, following domestic legal proceedings, and he has remained in custody in The Hague since. 

El Hishri had also tried to challenge the ICC's jurisdiction over his case entirely, arguing that Libya's 2025 declaration accepting the Court's authority was invalid, but judges rejected that bid just a day before confirming the charges. The ICC has issued arrest warrants for 14 people connected to the Libya investigation; several have died, and multiple others–including alleged co-perpetrators–remain fugitives, underscoring how much of the broader effort for accountability still depends on Libyan authorities' cooperation with the Court.

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Glossary Accountability – subject to the obligation to report, explain, or justify something; responsible; answerable.

Co-perpetrators – Two people who commit, an illegal, criminal, or evil act.

Detainees – people held in custody, especially for a political offense or for questioning.

Enslavement – the act of taking or holding someone as a slave.

Fugitives – a person who is fleeing, as from prosecution, intolerable circumstances.

Jurisdiction – the right, power, or authority to administer justice by hearing and determining controversies.

Landmark – significant or historic event, juncture, achievement, etc.

Motion – a law or an application made to a court or judge for an order, ruling, or the like.

Persecution – a program or campaign to exterminate, drive away, or subjugate people based on their membership in a religious, ethnic, social, or racial group.

Prosecution – the institution and carrying on of legal proceedings against a person.

Reasonable Doubt – the legal burden of proof required for a criminal conviction.

Sexual Violence – any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, or other act of a sexual nature that is committed or attempted by another person without freely given consent.